A frustration of searching out down-home dining places in the Midwest is that so many menus lack originality and true regional flavor. It's not that food isn't competently prepared, it's just that a majority of offerings are too darned normal and uninspired. That's why it's so refreshing to stumble across an operation such as the sandwich/dessert bar at Krema, a company that has been processing roasted nuts since 1898.

The man who found a severed fingertip in a pint of frozen custard has made a belated offer to return the digit, but it's too late to reattach it. The piece of index finger was found earlier this month by Clarence Stowers in the dessert he purchased from Kohl's Frozen Custard in the coastal town of Wilmington.

To a dessert shop customer, the severed fingertip found in a pint of frozen custard could be worth big dollars in a potential lawsuit. To the shop worker who lost it, the value is far more than monetary. But Clarence Stowers still has the digit, refusing to return the evidence so it could be reattached.

State officials are trying to determine how a worker cut off part of his finger and how the severed piece wound up in a customer's ice cream at a shop that was cleared by the state after a similar accident last summer.

Indianapolis International Airport is about 10 minutes by car from downtown; on a good day the trip takes a mere 12 minutes. A new terminal is planned as part of a $974 million, five-year airport renewal project. No moving walkways or shuttle trains are needed to get you to any gate. 2500 South High School Road (west of I-465 at I-70), 317-487-7243; www.indianapolisairport.com.